falwell

Fred Phelps, founder and pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas and a man so far on the fringes of the radical religious Right even the late Rev. Jerry Falwell called him “a certified nut,” brought his nationwide road show of hate to San Diego the weekend of October 16-18. Along with a number of synagogues and Jewish community groups, one of his picketing targets was San Diego High School for its alleged tolerance and acceptance of Queer students. A counter-protest drew 500 people as opposed to the 10 or so Westboro Baptist Church members on the opposite side of Park Boulevard from the school.

Back in the days of the first Mayor Richard Daley, when an alderman got out of line during a City Council debate, the power on his microphone was unceremoniously cut, whether he had the floor legitimately or not.

Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are, respectively, founder of the Christian Coalition and the Christian Broadcasting Network, and Chancellor of Liberty University and founder of the now-defunct Moral Majority.

Rightwing religious zealots Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson attempted to shift blame for the slaughter of innocents away from their fellow religious fanatics in the ranks of Islam, and put it squarely on the shoulders of secular and religious Americans who don't share their brand of bigotry. Meanwhile, anti-feminist columnist Ann Coulter called for an outright holy war. "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."